How much do insurance agents make?

Insurance Agent salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Insurance Sales Agents (SOC 41-3021) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Insurance agents in the US earned a median of $62,280 a year ($29.94 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $46,870 to $96,950.

Median annual pay: $62,280; Mean $81,480
Median hourly pay: $29.94; Mean $39.18
Typical range (10th–90th): $37.3K–$138K; $37,330 to $138,140
US jobs: 479,100; +3.3% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become an insurance agent: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Wisconsin

Insurance Agent pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$37,330
25th percentile$46,870
Median$62,280
75th percentile$96,950
90th percentile$138,140

Half of all insurance agents earned more than $62,280 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $37,330; the top 10% made over $138,140. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $46,870 to $96,950.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$37,330	$17.95	$3,111
25th	$46,870	$22.53	$3,906
Median (50th)	$62,280	$29.94	$5,190
75th	$96,950	$46.61	$8,079
90th	$138,140	$66.41	$11,512
Mean (average)	$81,480	$39.18	$6,790

Insurance Agent salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for insurance agents by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. District of Columbia $84,530
2. New Jersey $81,640
3. Rhode Island $79,930
4. Wisconsin $79,450
5. Massachusetts $79,300

Lowest-paying states

51. New Mexico $45,180
50. West Virginia $45,480
49. Delaware $46,710
48. Oklahoma $47,920
47. Mississippi $47,930

Best after cost of living: Wisconsin. Its median of $79,450 is worth about $84,436 at national-average prices, more than in District of Columbia once prices are counted.


Alabama	$65,510	17	$73,753	11	$31.50	7,430	3.52
Alaska	$50,500	45	$49,336	48	$24.28	540	1.65
Arizona	$61,560	26	$61,146	37	$29.59	11,870	3.66
Arkansas	$56,720	42	$65,243	26	$27.27	4,580	3.51
California	$76,120	8	$68,750	16	$36.60	41,160	2.26
Colorado	$68,730	16	$66,694	21	$33.04	9,530	3.32
Connecticut	$74,840	9	$72,232	13	$35.98	5,230	3.08
Delaware	$46,710	49	$46,800	51	$22.46	1,220	2.51
District of Columbia	$84,530	1	$76,915	7	$40.64	—	—
Florida	$59,790	36	$57,816	41	$28.75	47,560	4.79
Georgia	$61,850	23	$64,231	31	$29.74	18,030	3.69
Hawaii	$64,170	19	$58,362	40	$30.85	1,070	1.71
Idaho	$58,510	39	$61,271	36	$28.13	3,200	3.73
Illinois	$64,280	18	$64,307	30	$30.90	16,360	2.68
Indiana	$61,360	27	$65,746	23	$29.50	10,440	3.26
Iowa	$60,140	35	$68,526	17	$28.92	6,840	4.39
Kansas	$60,370	34	$67,027	20	$29.03	6,360	4.42
Kentucky	$60,880	32	$67,525	19	$29.27	6,210	3.10
Louisiana	$55,440	43	$62,852	32	$26.65	7,100	3.67
Maine	$62,920	20	$64,833	28	$30.25	2,240	3.50
Maryland	$58,300	40	$55,545	43	$28.03	5,700	2.06
Massachusetts	$79,300	5	$74,983	10	$38.12	9,940	2.73
Michigan	$61,900	22	$64,334	29	$29.76	12,160	2.76
Minnesota	$78,640	6	$79,740	4	$37.81	10,010	3.39
Mississippi	$47,930	47	$55,122	44	$23.04	3,210	2.76
Missouri	$58,990	37	$64,955	27	$28.36	10,030	3.42
Montana	$62,040	21	$65,550	24	$29.83	2,090	4.08
Nebraska	$61,590	25	$68,355	18	$29.61	6,160	6.01
Nevada	$49,100	46	$49,110	49	$23.60	4,200	2.71
New Hampshire	$74,370	10	$71,396	15	$35.75	2,320	3.39
New Jersey	$81,640	2	$75,033	9	$39.25	11,370	2.65
New Mexico	$45,180	51	$48,996	50	$21.72	2,200	2.52
New York	$78,110	7	$72,377	12	$37.55	22,420	2.31
North Carolina	$58,710	38	$62,242	33	$28.23	20,540	4.16
North Dakota	$71,220	14	$80,059	3	$34.24	1,460	3.40
Ohio	$61,260	29	$66,031	22	$29.45	16,250	2.93
Oklahoma	$47,920	48	$54,552	45	$23.04	5,310	3.11
Oregon	$61,680	24	$59,674	39	$29.66	5,370	2.73
Pennsylvania	$73,370	11	$75,196	8	$35.28	19,390	3.20
Rhode Island	$79,930	3	$78,148	5	$38.43	1,700	3.38
South Carolina	$61,350	28	$65,441	25	$29.50	8,220	3.57
South Dakota	$71,990	12	$81,266	2	$34.61	1,870	4.08
Tennessee	$57,120	41	$62,175	34	$27.46	7,610	2.32
Texas	$51,180	44	$52,732	46	$24.61	47,060	3.34
Utah	$61,230	30	$61,934	35	$29.44	4,620	2.66
Vermont	$70,720	15	$72,194	14	$34.00	730	2.39
Virginia	$60,520	33	$59,859	38	$29.10	9,480	2.31
Washington	$61,040	31	$57,040	42	$29.34	10,500	2.96
West Virginia	$45,480	50	$50,817	47	$21.86	1,430	2.04
Wisconsin	$79,450	4	$84,436	1	$38.20	7,860	2.67
Wyoming	$71,830	13	$77,494	6	$34.53	850	3.01

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for insurance agents

375 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$95,640	$82,724	4,860
Fond du Lac, WI	$95,110	$103,783	120
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$84,670	$80,775	6,750
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$83,990	$77,198	350
Bloomington, IL	$82,040	$87,709	780
Sheboygan, WI	$81,550	$86,742	100
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$81,540	$79,509	8,480
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$81,080	$83,642	2,250
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$80,940	$75,879	2,780
Madison, WI	$80,700	$82,950	1,090

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	21,280	$80,620	$71,622
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	15,800	$59,510	$57,726
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	14,680	$76,870	$67,688
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	14,160	$60,260	$52,788
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	11,870	$69,240	$66,837
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	9,660	$75,990	$75,946
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	9,020	$61,570	$59,594
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	8,750	$60,820	$60,283
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,480	$81,540	$79,509
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	8,000	$46,460	$47,106

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves insurance agent pay: employers and settings

Most insurance agent pay is tied to sales. Many agents earn commissions on new policies and on renewals, so income usually grows as an agent builds a book of clients who keep renewing. That is one reason the spread is so wide: the 90th percentile is $138,140, and the 10th is $37,330, around a median of $62,280.

Employer type matters. Agencies, brokerages and related firms employ 79.1% of agents at a median of $61,620. Insurance carriers pay more, at $72,350; agents in company management offices earn $81,090 and those at consulting firms $81,530. Travel firms that sell trip coverage pay less, at $48,310.

What an agent sells also counts. Commercial lines, large group benefits and life products with high premiums generally pay larger commissions than basic auto policies, and agents who add a FINRA securities registration can sell variable annuities and mutual funds too.

Location shifts the median from $84,530, in the District of Columbia, and $81,640, in New Jersey, down to $45,180 in New Mexico. After adjusting for living costs, Wisconsin comes out best at $84,436.

Where insurance agents work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities	79.1%	$61,620
Insurance Carriers	16.8%	$72,350
Management of Companies and Enterprises	0.7%	$81,090
Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services	0.6%	$48,310
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	0.4%	$49,980
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	0.2%	$81,530

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	478,360	$62,260
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	670	$88,860
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	70	$100,880

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Insurance Agent pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$62.3K $48.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $48,200 in 2015 to $62,280 in 2025, up 29% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $65,157 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 4% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What insurance agents do

An insurance agent sells policies that protect people and businesses against financial loss: car, home, renters, life, health, disability, long-term care and commercial coverage. The job is part advisor, part salesperson. An agent asks about a client's family, property, business or health, works out what could go wrong and what it would cost, then compares policies and premiums and writes up the application.

There are three common setups. A captive agent represents one insurer and sells only its products, often from a branded neighborhood office. An independent agent holds appointments with several carriers and shops coverage for each client. A broker formally represents the buyer rather than the insurer and is common in commercial lines. Most insurance sales agents work at agencies and brokerages, and about one in eight is self-employed.

The work is mostly done at a desk, by phone and video, with some visits to clients' homes or businesses. Agents also service the book they already have: renewals, coverage changes, billing questions and help when a client files a claim.

A typical day

Call, email and meet prospects, often from referrals by existing clients
Ask about a client's assets, income, family and current coverage to find gaps
Run quotes with one or more carriers and explain deductibles, limits and exclusions
Fill out applications, gather documents and send them to underwriters for approval
Review policies at renewal and suggest changes after a new car, house, child or business
Help clients start a claim and follow up with the carrier's adjuster
Keep client records and notes current in the agency's management system

Also called: insurance sales agent, insurance agents, insurance broker, sales agent, sales associate, sales representative, underwriting sales representative.

How to become an insurance agent

Full guide

To become an insurance agent you need a high school diploma, any pre-licensing course your state requires, and a passing score on your state's licensing exam for each line you want to sell, such as life and health or property and casualty. Many people are licensed within one to three months.

Typical time: 2-3 months; Fastest: About 1 month
Minimum education: High school diploma or equivalent, plus any state-required pre-licensing course
License: Required in all 50 states and DC, separately for each line of insurance sold
Typical training cost: $243–$43.4K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming an insurance agent: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 2-3 months; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $243–$43.4K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $62,280; $11,300 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 0–70%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($11,300 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 3.8 years after training ends (2-3 months in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for insurance agents

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +3.3%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 572,600; 591,400 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 43,100; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 11.8%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects insurance sales agent jobs to grow 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, from 572,600 to 591,400, slightly below the 3.5% average for all jobs. The field is large, so it still produces about 43,100 openings a year, mostly from agents who retire or switch careers.

Two forces pull in opposite directions. More shoppers compare and buy simple policies online, and BLS expects AI tools to handle more routine work. But insurers always need new customers, and many people still want someone to explain coverage. BLS expects self-employed agents to grow faster than salaried ones.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Insurance Agent salary FAQ

How much do insurance agents make an hour?

The median hourly wage for insurance agents was $29.94 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $17.95 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $66.41. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays insurance agents the most?

District of Columbia has the highest median pay for insurance agents, $84,530 a year, followed by New Jersey ($81,640) and Rhode Island ($79,930). After adjusting for each state's price level, Wisconsin comes out ahead at about $84,436 in national-average dollars.

Do insurance agents make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 10% and 25% of insurance agents earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $62,280, and the top 10% earn more than $138,140. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a captive and an independent insurance agent?

A captive agent sells for one insurance company only, often under its brand, and usually gets office support, leads and training from it. An independent agent is appointed with several carriers and can quote the same client with each of them. Captive roles are a common first job; independent agents trade that support for more choice of products and, often, ownership of their book of business.

Do insurance agents get paid salary or commission?

It depends on the employer. Some agents, especially at call centers and large carriers, earn a base salary plus bonuses. Many others are paid mainly or entirely by commission on new policies and renewals. New agents on straight commission can earn little in their first months while they build a client list, so ask how pay works, and whether there is a training salary, before accepting a role.

Can an insurance agent sell in more than one state?

Yes. An agent holds a resident license in the home state and can apply for nonresident licenses in other states, usually without retaking the exam. States follow NAIC uniform licensing standards, and most nonresident applications go through the National Insurance Producer Registry. Each state charges its own fees and has its own continuing education and renewal rules.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 41-3021
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (41-3021.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Insurance Sales Agents: Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
State Licensing Handbook and Uniform Licensing Standards, National Association of Insurance Commissioners · checked October 28, 2026
Licensing Fees, California Department of Insurance · checked October 28, 2026
12 Hours of Study on Ethics and the California Insurance Code and Continuing Education Information, California Department of Insurance · checked October 28, 2026
Apply for a New License, National Insurance Producer Registry · checked October 28, 2026
CPCU Designation, The Institutes · checked October 28, 2026
Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam, FINRA · checked October 28, 2026
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), The American College of Financial Services · checked October 28, 2026
Series 6: Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative Exam, FINRA · checked October 28, 2026
Uniform Licensing Standards, National Association of Insurance Commissioners · checked October 28, 2026

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